Arsene Wenger has given Arsenal something to cheer following the team's FA Cup final defeat by indicating that he will be staying at Highbury. Wenger has not signed a replacement contract for the one which runs out at the end of next season, leading to speculation linking him with a host of clubs, including Barcelona.
But yesterday he gave the clearest indication yet that he will stay, saying he is only two meetings away from tying himself to the club, possibly until 2004 when Arsenal should have moved to their new 60,000-seat stadium at nearby Ashburton Grove.
"I have not agreed anything yet, but I know in my mind what I'll do," said Wenger, who explained that he will sit down with the club after the final game of the season, at Southampton on Saturday. "It will take a maximum of two meetings to decide things. I say that because it always takes time. It is like a girl being told never to say `yes' on a first date. But that is only on my side. I can't give you a decision because you need to know what the board wants."
There is no doubt that the board want him to stay but, with Arsenal trophy-less for three seasons, team strengthening is essential and the club will have to assure Wenger they can fund his ambition.
"I still believe in this team," he said of players who need one point from their two remaining games - they play Newcastle tonight - to guarantee second place in the Premiership. "It has shown some qualities. But in every area of the team we need somebody.
"I have some players in mind, but I've been keeping it quiet for now. I think that 90 per cent of the players here will still be around next season. I don't want to sell anybody. I won't break our wages policy, but I believe we will still get the players we need to make that improvement."
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has revealed that 51-goal striker Henrik Larsson will finally put pen to paper on a new contract "very shortly". Larsson's agent Rob Jansen has been negotiating an extension to his current deal which still has nearly one-and-a-half years left to run.
Speculation has refused to go away surrounding the Swede's future - but it appears that the Scottish Players' Player of the Year and Football Writers' Player of year is on the brink of a deal that will see him end his career at Parkhead.
"I think there will be something done very shortly," said O'Neill, "and our contracts manager is meeting his agent in the next four or five days. I would certainly like that to be put to be bed before the end of the season."
O'Neill was also cheered yesterday by the news that Dutchman Bobby Petta will make his first appearance for almost two months when he lines up against Manchester United tonight in Tom Boyd's testimonial at Parkhead.
Manchester City defender Laurent Charvet has been placed on the transfer list at his own request. Charvet has spent only seven months at Maine Road following a £1 million move from Newcastle. However, the 28-year-old Frenchman endured a torrid time and fell out with a section of the supporters as the club tumbled out of the Premiership.
